Phantom enemy
by Scaredforhttyd3
Summary: "Hiccup woke with a jolt, sitting up in his bed. He peered out the window, it was pitch black. 'huh, I wonder what-' then it hit him, so hard it knocked the breath from his lungs. Pain." Dun, Dun, Dunnn! read to figure out what happens to poor hiccup! XD
1. Phantom pain

**Okay so this probably takes place a little after season 4 of rtte. It prob doesn't follow the storyline perfectly... I mean, obviously they didn't go through a harsh winter in between season 4 and 5. But this was something i literally wrote on impulse at midnight because i couldn't sleep lol...**

Chapter 1: phantom pain

Hiccup woke with a jolt, sitting up in his bed. He peered out the window, it was pitch black.

"Huh, I wonder what-" then it hit him, so hard it knocked the breath from his lungs. Pain. That's all he could feel. Searing hot pain. It started at his stump, flowed through his leg, and up his spine. He bit back a scream. _Phantom_ _pain, just my luck!_ He thought. Those were never fun. He buried his face in his pillow to muffle a shout. He really didn't want to wake Toothless. He'd only worry. And a panicked dragon is never a good thing. He groaned. _Great_. _It's gonna_ _be a long night_.

...

Astrid drummed her fingers against the surface of the table in the clubhouse, becoming impatient. And a bit annoyed too. It was freezing out and she didn't think she could take the twins bickering anymore. Hiccup wanted everyone there extra early to do some training. Everyone was there... except Hiccup.

"...Maybe he overslept?..." suggested Fishlegs.

"It's Hiccup, he's the one who wanted us here. He wouldn't over sleep." said Astrid.

...

30 more minutes had past, and still no sign of Hiccup. Astrid, now becoming slightly worried, got up, put on her coat, and made her way to the Dragon Rider's hut.

When she reached his hut, she knocked, no answer. _Huh... maybe he really did sleep in_. Upon opening the door and walking inside, things seemed normal. But when she climbed the stairs up into the loft and saw him there, pale and sweaty, looking so helpless, fear quickly seized her heart. It brought back horrible memories of the voyage back from the Red Death. The infection, the amputation, him near death…. He let out a pitiful whimper, and she was snapped out of her trance.

"Gods, hiccup! A-are you o-ok?"she said. Rushing to his side. He only moaned in response. He was delirious from the pain, curled into himself and shaking uncontrollably. She knelt down and upon feeling his forehead exclaimed, "Thor, hiccup! You're burning up!"

She rushed downstairs and started rummaging through drawers and flinging open cabinets until she found what she was looking for. A rag. She grabbed it and raced back upstairs, snatching a bucket of clean drinking water from a nearby table on her way up. By now Toothless had woken up, his bright green eyes glowed in concern. The poor dragon was gently nuzzling Hiccup's hand, cooing in worry. Astrid knelt back down by her friend. She dipped the rag in the water, and rang it out, placing it on his forehead.

"Okay...Hiccup? What hurts?" she asked gently. Trying not to let the panic that was quickly growing show. He simply moaned in response, waving his hand about like one would try to wave off a fly.

" _Hiccup..."_ she said warningly.

"Hmmm...m'fine" He slurred.

"Hiccup! You're obviously _not_ fine! Now tell me what it is before I make you!" She threatened. Although she was pretty sure she sounded anything but threatening. Her voice was strained and hoarse from panic.

"Mmmm..m-m'leg" he mumbled, so quiet she almost didn't hear.

"Hiccup, why would your-" and then it all came back.

His leg.

The amputation.

She thought back to Gobber's words...

...

"Gobber!" Astrid called as she made her way into the forge. She was looking for hiccup because he was late for dragon training. AGAIN.

She found the old blacksmith bending over the anvil, hammering away on a still-hot gronkle iron sword.

"Gobber!" She tried again, but her only reply was the ringing of metal banging against metal.

"Ugh, GOBBER!" She yelled, now only a couple feet away from him. He jumped, causing him to drop his hammer. He muttered something under his breath as he bent down to pick it up. He then set it on the anvil and turned to face Astrid.

"Oy lassie! Don't scare me like that!" Gobber shouted.

"Sorry Gobber, I'm looking for hiccup...have you seen him?"

Gobber sighed "Aye... didn't show up for dragon training aye? Figured, he's not look'n to good"

"what? What do mean? Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine in a day or two...listen, for us amputees," he lifted up his right peg leg for emphasis, "the first cold can be tough. It causes phantom pains, no one knows why that is or even why they happen, but it's different for everyone. It all depends on how you came to loose that appendage."

...

"Oh...gods hiccup! Th-the cold! Your leg..it's a phantom pain isn't it?" She asked gently.

He nodded meekly and whimpered in response.

"Okay, I'll be back hiccup, I promise. I'm just gonna go get fishlegs. He knows what to do for these."

"O-ok" he managed to croak out,"but I told you I'm fine."

Astrid sighed and pressed a kiss to his sweaty forehead before she ran to the steps, but stopped after she took the first one. "Watch him toothless...come get me if he gets worse."

Toothless nodded and sat down as to say "don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." She nodded and rushed down the rest of the stairs, out the door, and towards the clubhouse.

...

"Fishlegs!" Astrid gasped as she entered the clubhouse. "Fishlegs! I need your help! It's hiccup."

Fishlegs, who by now was out of his chair and making his way over to Astrid shouted "what's wrong!?"

"It's hiccup, he has a phantom pain. I don't have any idea what to do for him. But I knew you had some medical training."

"Thor...ok, ruff, tuff! Go get some ice! Snotlout! Go to the store house and get those purple herbs I got from Gothi last year."

"What!? Why do _I_ need to fly _all the way_ to the store house on the _other_ side of the island!?" he asked incredulously. Good Thor he could be such a Muttonhead!

"Because I can use it to make a salve to put on his leg. It helps with the pain! Now will you just shut up and go!?" Fishlegs yelled.

"Okay, okay, jeez. I was just wondering." snotlout mumbled as he climbed on hookfang's back and flew of towards the store house.

"Come on Fishlegs, he wasn't looking to good. We should hurry." Astrid said worriedly.

Fishlegs simply nodded in reply and started jogging towards Hiccup's hut, Astrid close behind.

...

Pain. That's all that existed for him right now. This constant, agonizing pain that wouldn't go away. It was pulsing. Almost like his leg had a heartbeat of its own. He moaned softly, not having the energy to do anything else. His senses weren't working correctly either. Somewhere in the background he could here a gentle cooing and cold scales against his hand. Toothless... at least he was here. He couldn't be independent anymore. All he wanted was to curl up in toothless' warm embrace and fall asleep. He felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over him, and didn't even fight the feverish sleep that was threatening to take over.

...

By the time Astrid got back up to Hiccup's loft, along with Fishlegs, he was, thankfully, asleep, albeit a fitful sleep. Fishlegs went downstairs to do Thor knows what while Astrid dipped the rag that had fallen of Hiccup's forehead back into the bucket of cool water and rung it out, wiping his brow then setting it on his forehead. She peeped her head over the edge of the loft and looked downstairs to see Fishlegs working furiously with some odd looking green liquid. "What in the name of Thor is that?" She asked.

"It's something to help with the pain." He explained as he finished up stirring the strange concoction and pouring it into a smaller bowl. He then came up the stairs and sat it on the nightstand near his bed."He needs to drink this...but I don't want to wake him. I guess we can wait until he wakes up on his own and then we'll give it to him."

Just then, the twins came running in and up the stairs to the loft with a bucket of snow. "Here." Tuff said, sat the bucket down near Fishlegs, and ran to the corner with his sister, both staring wide eyed at Hiccup. For once, they actually looked genuinely concerned.

"Okay, we're gonna have to roll up his trousers..."

Astrid nodded. She reached down to do as Fishlegs said but hesitated. Hiccup had never shown anyone his leg, not even her. It was his handicap, his weakness...it almost felt wrong revealing it without his permission. She knew it probably didn't look to pretty either. She wasn't allowed to see the extent of his injuries after the red death, but she heard his screams during the amputation...thank the gods he didn't remember. She shuddered at the memory, but pushed her thoughts aside and did as she was told. Hiccup would suffer otherwise, and Odin knew that was the last thing she wanted. She rolled his trousers up and over his knee. The shield maiden drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the puffy white and pink scars that started at his stump and stretched all the way to his knee, like a grotesque spiderweb trapping its next victim.

"Thor..." she whispered.

Fishlegs stared for a moment, but recovered quickly and set to work. He grabbed a small wad of bandages that he had acquired from one of Hiccup's chests and scooped up a handful of snow with his other hand. He placed the snow against Hiccup's stump and wrapped the bandages around it to Keep the snow in place. Through all this hiccup hadn't even stirred. Which meant he probably fell into unconsciousness at some point.

"Where on Odin's green earth is Snotlout? I could really use those herbs right about now." Fishlegs said irritably.

" I don't know Fishlegs, but we'll just have to make do with what we have."

 **Ok I know this probably sucked but it was kinda hard to get it going. I actually have some really cool ideas for the next... how many chapters I decide to do. Idrk yet lol. And do keep in mind that I am only 13 and have never really written before in my life. So you can't expect everything from me. And I'm sorry if it takes me a little while to get the next chapter up. I live on a horse farm with 60 horses and have 2 of my own that require attention. Along with school, a dog, snake, and a pig that requires constant attention. But anyways, I'll stop rambling now. Thanks for reading! See ya next chapter!**


	2. Taking Care of Hiccup

**This actually came out quicker than I thought. Sorry it's shorter but I want to be able to get to the main conflict sooner rather than later. (: Also! Special thanks to my first 3 followers, JusteCamille, Romantica 123, and hannahdaspannah! Honestly I was NOT expecting this. especially so soon XD Thank you so much(:**

Chapter 2: Taking Care of Hiccup

"Ugh! Where is he!?" Fishlegs exclaimed.

It had been an hour and Snotlout still wasn't back.

"Hiccup's not getting any better." He said grimly.

As if on cue, Hiccup started groaning.

"Hey, hey its ok. You're fine Hiccup." Astrid soothed. She was currently sitting on a stool by Hiccup's bed, running her fingers through his hair. It seemed to calm him somewhat, but he was still in a great deal of pain. It hurt her to see him like this. She just wanted that pigheaded Jorgenson to hurry up so she could help him. "Ruff, Tuff, take Barf and Belch and go get Snotlout. That mottonhead is taking way to long."

The twins, who were sitting in the corner being unusually quiet, shot up and gave a quick solute. Their helmets practically hopping of their heads for a moment before resting perfectly back into place. They darted down the stairs, pushing and shoving each other in the hopes of slowing the other down so they could reach the door first.

"Fishlegs, is there anything we can do to help him?"

"...We should probably try to wake him up so he can take that pain reliever."

"Hiccup," Astrid said, shaking the hurting boy softly. "Hiccup it's time to wake up."

Hiccup rolled his head to the side, moaning in protest. That was the last thing he wanted to do. His head was pounding, his stomach twisting, and his leg was throbbing. Sleep was the only escape, and he _did not_ want to give that up yet.

"Hiccup please. We have something that can help you."

"I don't...need help" Hiccup said unconvincingly. But upon hearing Astrid's desperate voice he was contemplating wether or not he really _should_ get up.

Astrid shook her head. _always so stubborn_ she thought to herself. "I think you do hiccup. Can you try to sit up?"

He nodded weekly, and with some help from Astrid, managed to sit up. Although almost immediately his left arm hugged his stomach and he hunched over. "A-astrid, I think I ne-ed a...a.."

Astrid understood instantly and grabbed the empty bucket she had brought up, Just incase. She handed it to Hiccup who lurched forward and promptly wretched up whatever he had had for dinner the previous evening. Once he finished, Astrid carefully took the bucket from him and handed it to Fishlegs. "Can you go clean this out?' she sighed.

He nodded curtly and scurried of to do as told.

Astrid turned back to Hiccup and sighed. "You look awful, babe."

"Thanks" He said sarcastically.

The shield maiden scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully. "I see someone's feeling better."

"Eh.. a little"

"Oh! Fishlegs said you have to drink this," she explained as she handed him the bowl of revolting green liquid. "He said it should help with the pain."

The young man took it without complaint, looked at it in disgust, plugged his nose, and gulped it down. He gagged at the terrible taste of the retched concoction, but managed to keep it down. "Ugh, that stuff's terrible."

Astrid chuckled while leaning in to kiss his forehead once more. "Maybe, but Fishlegs said it should help."

Hiccup sighed. "It better. I don't know how much more of this I can take to be honest. My leg is killing me."

Astrid stared at the ground for a few moments, looking thoughtful. "Hiccup..." she started, a bit hesitant.

"Ya?.."

"Have you ever..have you ever had a phantom pain before? How many times have you had to go through this alone?"

"I-I, humm..." He sighed. "Yes, but none have been as bad as this!" He added quickly upon seeing her concerned expression.

"But still.. did you tell anybody? Your dad? Gobber?"

"No, but I can handle it, really."

Astrid let out a long sigh and said tiredly, "Just try to tell us next time okay? We're here for you."

A ghost of a smile found its way on Hiccup's face. "I will. Thanks Astrid."

Although his sweet mood was replaced with anxiety when he looked down at his leg and froze. Just noticing his trousers rolled over his knee and the bandages covering a small portion of his stump. "A-astrid you...?" He stammered. Obviously nervous and even a bit flustered.

"Fishlegs said the cold bandages would dull the pain. We just want to help you hiccup."

"I uh...I.."

"Hiccup."

His head snapped up toward Astrid.

"I love you. And I think I speak for all of us when I say some scars aren't gonna change that."

His faint smile turned into an all out grin. He leaned in and kissed her softly. "Thank you." He said sincerely as he pulled away.

"Anytime" She said smirking. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I think that stuff's working. Although I'm still noxious."

"Ya, you have a fever. But I'm glad your feeling better."

Toothless cooed and got up off his rock slab, walked over to Hiccup and gently nuzzled his hand.

"I'm okay, bud." Hiccup chuckled.

"I think we both are." Astrid said happily.

"Is that stuff working yet Hiccup?" Fishlegs inquired, making his way up the stairs with the now-clean bucket.

"Yup. Thanks Fishlegs."

...

Snotlout pulled and tugged at his ropes, but they were tied tight. The strange hooded figure loomed above him. "Who are you? What do you want?" Snotlout asked through gritted teeth.

"To finish what I started. You, Jorgenson, will be the key to the ultimate destruction of Hiccup Hoddock."

 **Da dada daaaa!** **The first part prob sucked but I was really excited to get to the "snotlout is captured" part. Who is this mysterious figure!? What does he want with poor snotlout!?**


	3. phantom enemy

**Thank you soooo much for the reviews! ahh! you guys are so nice! XD**

 **Romantica** **123 : 1. I know you said I shouldn't thank you but I really do feel like i should, soooo... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME REVIEW! I JUST DISCOVERED MY PASSION FOR WRITING SO THE ENCOURAGING WORDS MEAN A LOT! **

**2\. You'll have to wait to find out ;)**

 **stormyskies8:** **You'll have to waut and see XD maybe you can figure it out. I dropped some hints in this chapter**

 **CdnChrgr: Thank you so much!**

 **Alright! Chapter 3 is served!**

Chapter 3: Phantom Enemy

"No...no, no, no you can't be here! Y-your'e supposed to be dead! H-how did-d you even survive!?"

"I'm afraid that is a story for another day, Snotlout." The strange hooded man said, "For today we must rejoice. For today, today will be the day Hiccup Haddock will fall, and the dragon hunters will take back our seas!"

...

"Anything?" Astrid questioned as Fishlegs made his way up the stairs. Snotlout and the twins had been gone most of the day, and her and Fishlegs were starting to get worried.

"No" He sighed.

"Ugh..ok, I think Toothless can watch Hiccup for a bit. You and I are gonna go looking for those muttonheads."

Hiccup had fallen into unconsciousness about an hour ago, which was a good thing considering the pain reliever would be losing its affect right about now.

"Ok, but what if Hiccup wakes up? Shouldn't one of us be here?" Fishlegs asked worriedly.

"Toothless will be here. I think he can handle it. Right bud?"

Toothless sat up straight and nodded his head with a _huff_.

Astrid chuckled. "Alright, lets go get those muttonheads and just hope they haven't blown up half the island."

...

They had been flying for about 15 minutes by the time they reached the storehouse, the cold air stinging their cheeks. Hiccup choose this side of the island because it had thick vegetation, perfect for hiding a storehouse. He also choose the other side of the island for safety reasons such as; If the base was attacked and destroyed, they would still have a hidden storehouse with provisions, weaponry, and medical supplies. So far nothing was on fire, no mass destruction, and the storehouse was still in one piece, which was odd. Astrid landed, Fishlegs not far behind. Astrid stepped inside the storehouse and was confused at what she saw. _Hmm...No mess, no explosions, where the heck are they?_ This was odd. Very odd. "Let's check the beach. I wouldn't put it past them to get side tracked swimming or something," She thought aloud.

They mounted back on their respective dragons and took off.

As they were flying along the beach, suddenly, a dragon root arrow whizzed past Astrid's ear! "What the-" she drew in a breath as she saw another one coming straight for her. "Stormfly!" She gasped as she leaned to one side, doing a quick barrel roll to the right, the arrow just missing them. Unfortunately their evasive maneuvers had put them right into the path of another arrow, it coming to rest in Stormfly's upper leg. Stormfly let out a pained squawk and she started to stagger, her normally smooth flight pattern becoming choppy and unpredictable. "Woah, Stormfly!" Her descent was gradually getting faster and faster until they were straight out falling. All Stormfly could do to protect her precious rider before they hit the ground was wrap her up in a protective embrace. Astrid felt all the oxygen leave her chest as she she got the wind knocked out of her, and she heard a sicking _crunch_ before her vision went black, and she succumbed to unconsciousness.

"Astrid!" Fishlegs called out in horror, seeing his friend crash through the thick canopy of trees hugging the beach. "Come on Meatlug!" He urged, but it was no use, for before he could do anything a huge boulder flew through the air and knocked them out of the sky.

...

Toothless was sitting near the foot of the bed, his head resting on his human's legs, staring at him with wide eyes. _Please_ w _ake up_ Toothless thought. He moved to Hiccup's head, nudging his cheek, giving a small _huff_ , ruffling the unconscious boy's hair. He gave another impatient _huff_ before giving his rider a rough shove in the hopes of shaking him out of his slumber. And to his utter astonishment, it worked! Hiccup gave a groan and cracked his eyes open. His brilliant green eyes and dark auburn hair in stark contrast to his pale complexion. Toothless let out an excited bark and proceeded to lick his rider to death.

"I'm-I'm ok, bud," He cackled, trying push the oversized puppy off him, "I'm glad to see you too. Where is everyone?"

His dragon gave a little grunt and pointed his snout towards the door.

Hiccup sighed and plopped back down onto the bed, arms sprawled out and hanging over the sides. Although he immediately regretted it and winced, for the movement sent daggers of pain up his left leg. This was definitely one of the worst phantom pains he'd ever had. Normally he would feel it coming on in the evening, and he'd be able to sleep it off and it would be gone by morning. He hadn't had one this bad since his recovery over 3 years ago. _So why is this one different? I guess the_ _f_ _irst cold had come early this year. Intense too._ "Well, any ideas to pass the time, bud?"

Toothless just gave him a quizzical look, his head cocked to one side.

Hiccup chuckled again before saying, "Well, I'm sure they'll be back soon to check on me. I'll just have to wait here until then." _I hate being bedridden_

 _..._

Fishlegsawoke bound to a post and gagged. _W_ _hat in the name of Odin?_ He thought, frantically tugging at his ropes. He looked about, noticing the dragon hunter ship docked near the shore, the two guards posted on either side of him, and the dragon skin tent about 10 yards in front of him. _Where are the dragons?_ The flap opened, and he saw a guard escorting a stunned looking Astrid out of the tent. Her left hand was curled up and pressed against her stomach, so he guessed that, concernedly, it was broken. The guard lead her to the opposite side of the post, shoved her down to the ground, and tied her up the same way as him. Through all this she didn't resist, fight, or struggle, which was strange. _Very_ strange. "What is it? Are you ok?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"He's back."

 **Another cliffie! I know, I'm terrible ;D Have you figured out who this person is yet? I feel like Iv'e made it fairly obvious but who knows? My dad is leaving today for a week so that means I'll prob have more responsibilities. so sorry if it takes me a while to update. I'm not certain I'll be super busy so i might be able to update soon but just incase I don't, that's why(:**


	4. Chapter 1(from my book Sabine)

**So I haven't been able to work on Phantom Enemy AT ALL. Which really frustrates me but I DO have the (prob) finished 1st chapter of my book! This is something I wrote on my own and is not related to Httyd. Sorry ): I'd like to get your feedback on it and if you have any suggestions that you feel would make it better, please tell me! I've got pretty thick skin so if you see a mistake don't sugar coat it. You can just lay it on me lol. It's a wee bit gory at the end. Nothing terrible at all, but I just felt like I should say something bc I have a friend who would be given nightmares about this. She scares easily lol She literally refused to read it...BUUUUT anyways, chapter 1 of Sabine!**

 **Chapter 1**

"Come on! What? You _scared_?" Josh taunted, waving an accusing finger at his friend.

David Scoffed, "No! I just don't see how sneaking into an abandoned warehouse at 11:00 at night is a good idea."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" Josh argued, giving his friend a playful punch to the shoulder

"Ugh! Fine," David agreed reluctantly, throwing his arms up in defeat.

"Yes! Now come on, will you?" Josh laughed.

David sighed. _How is this a good idea?_ He thought incredulously as he followed his crazy best friend toward the foreboding industrial building. He looked up at the huge, intimidating steel door littered with graffiti and steel bars welding it closed. His flashlight beam danced across the walls, revealing even more graffiti. David would much rather be spending his Friday night at home with a box of _Domino's pizza_ , binging _The Walking Dead_ on Netflix. Definitely not breaking into an old warehouse that, for all they knew, could be haunted.

"You gonna help?" his friend's questioning voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned toward his left and saw Josh, who was currently tugging at the wooden boards that sealed off a window, which was suspended about four and a half feet off the ground. His tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Combining that, his stupid leather jacket, and his Loose Denim Trousers; he looked like an idiot.

"What the heck are you doing?" David sighed.

"Getting us in," He chuckled rebelliously as he pulled the last board free, revealing the dirty glass of the window.

David let out _another_ exasperated sigh. "I _really_ don't think we should be doing this." He said nervously.

"Ahh, no sense of adventure," Josh said, shaking his head. He laid his eyes on a piece of concrete coming loose from the cracking pavement beneath their feet and pried it free. Josh reared his right arm back, aimed, and fired. There was a sound of glass shattering and the thud of concrete landing on the warehouse floor. Every sound echoed in the vast emptiness of the old building. Josh gingerly removed the few remaining shards of glass before pushing himself up onto the window sill, twisting so he was facing the inside, and ducked in.

"Come on dude!" David heard him yell from inside the lightless warehouse.

David let out a long, agitated breath. _I'm looking for a new best friend after this._ He walked up to the window, stared at it for a minute, then followed Josh.

His flashlight's beam only going as far as ten feet before getting swallowed by the darkness. And it was eerily quiet apart from their echoing footfalls. The dank air and metallic scent of rust was overpowering. They walked all the way to the other side, and took notice of the fact that it was practically empty except for a couple ancient steel tables pressed up against the far side.

They were passing the far-right side when Josh's light caught something in its ray. It was the railing to an aged iron staircase that hugged the wall in the far-right corner.

"Sweet! Looks like there's an upstairs. Let's go check it out."

 _How did he talk me into this?_ David wondered.

Josh let out an excited cackle. "Come on! Don't be such a chicken." He said for the umpteenth time, grabbing David's arm and dragging him toward the intimidating staircase.

"I'm not a chicken," David protested, "I'm just reasonably concerned about breaking and entering into an abandoned building late at night, like any sane person would be."

The stairs did _not_ look safe, and the railing was ready to break at any moment. David started to wonder if his friend had a death wish. Every step they took, the staircase would wobble and let out a low pitched moan. _Why am I even doing this?_

Once they reached the top of the staircase, they were greeted with a short, narrow hallway. At the end was a silver iron door with the words DO NOT ENTER painted in red on the top. There was a strange, dull orange glow seeping from the gap between the door and the floor.

"Well, I guess that's that. It says 'Do not enter.'" David suggested hopefully.

"Which is exactly why we _should_ enter. I mean they're practically inviting us in now." Josh persuaded.

David let out an irritated grumble, but otherwise didn't protest. In all honesty, he was starting to get a bit curious as to what was behind that door. Why would the rest be completely unkept and dark, but this room brightly lit? Guess there was only one way to find out.

They made their way down the small corridor, single file. The floor creaked and groaned under their weight. Once they reached the door, Josh slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open to reveal another vast empty room. Except this one wasn't quiet… they could hear a faint rasping, similar to the sound of laboured breathing, and a foul, musty smell that filled the boys' nostrils. Josh, ever the daredevil, entered first. Since the door was nestled against the left wall, he had to turn to the right to get a good look at the room. David could see him visibly stiften and heard him whisper, "Oh, sweet Lord." He rushed in to see what had his friend so frightened. David turned toward the center of the room where the light and sounds came from, and drew in a sharp breath at what greeted him. He staggered backward, his vision swimming. Before him lay a sickly looking, emaciated girl, or women, he couldn't tell. She was strapped to a table by the wrists and ankles like some sick science experiment. Her chest rose and fell in quick, ragged breaths. She was in nothing but dirty bindings and underwear, which, despite the severity of the situation, made him blush and want to look away. She was covered in dirt and grime. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, and her head rolled to the side. Her hair so dirty and matted that it was unclear what color it was. From where he was standing, David couldn't tell if she was conscious or not. Her body was coated in a crusty, dark brownish-red substance. Thick, crimson colored liquid oozed and bubbled from her right knee, which was bent at an extremely awkward angle.

 _Blood, so much blood._ Was David's last thought before everything went black.


	5. He’s Back

**Okay, so first off I know there was some confusion about** **Sabine** **...To clarify that was the 1st chapter to my own book I am writing. It is not related to Httyd in any way, it is a story I have made up on my own. So, so sorry for all the confusion, I wasn't thinking clearly. I was kinda desperate to get some feedback and tips from any of you amazing writers out there .**

 **Second, sorry to keep you waiting! I've been crazy busy and actually have a down day today XD. And I was actually wondering if I had a good enough motive for this "mysterious figure" to do what he's going to do to hiccup, but I think it's pretty good so I kept it.**

 **Third, I recently read FanWriter02's story "blizzards and hiccups" and realized it was similar to mine. I just want to say I PROMISE I didn't copy her. But she's an amazing author and you should really go check her out**

 **OKAY! On to the 4th chapter!**

Chapter 4: He's Back

"Ugh," Hiccup complained has he flopped down onto the bed for what felt like the umpteenth time today. He hated being bedridden. Feeling helpless, weak. He knew his friends didn't see him that way, not one bit. But he still hated it. "Where are they?" The sun was setting already, and no one had come to check up on him. Sure, he could handle himself, but the fact that even _Astrid_ hadn't come to see how he was doing worried him. _I should check on them. Just to be safe._ "Toothless, come here, bud." Hiccup said while sitting up.

Toothless perked up at his name. Giving a gummy smile, a got up off his rock slab and tottered over to Hiccup.

"Hey bud, how 'bout a little flight huh?"

Toothless snorted and backed up, looking surprised. Then he growled and brought a paw up to shove Hiccul back down.

"Ugh, come on bud! I'm _fine._ It's just one quick flight. Just to make sure everyone is ok! And besides, I'm feeling better."

Toothless looked at Hiccup skeptically, then spun around with his head held high, clearly ignoring him.

"Uuuuugh, Toothless! Come on! Please?" He practically begged. He was becoming more worried by the second. _What if some rogue hunters attacked the edge? What if one of the riders had gotten hurt? What if Astrid had gotten hurt? "_ I need to make sure they're ok Toothless. Please?" He said a bit softer.

Toothless' shoulders slumped in defeat, and he turned around to look at his begging rider. He walked forward and gave Hiccup's hand a little shove with his snout.

"Yes! Thanks bud."

Hiccup sat up again, then carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He stood up slowly,his leg aching, but at least it wasn't sending daggers of pain up his spineanymore. He took a step toward Toothlesswhen, suddenly, a wave of vertigo hit him. Hewobbled, thankful Toothless was there to steady him or he would have faceplanted onto the floor

"I'm- I'm ok bud," Hiccup reassured.

He moved over to the saddle and, with much concentration, managed to get his foot in the stirrup and swing himself onto his dragon's back.

Hiccup bent over Toothless' neck, whispering, "Alright bud, let's go to Astrid's hut. Make sure she's alright."

"And where do you think your going?"

Hiccup stiffened, recognizing the voice immediately. Alarms rang off in Hiccup's head. _No, nononono it can't be! Can it? No! H-he's dead!_ He looked up towards the voice, seeing the silhouette of the voice's owner leaning against the doorframe.

"Viggo," He whispered shakily.

"I know it may come as a shock to you, but it takes more than that to kill me," Viggo said as he made his way into the hut, the moonlight casted eerie shadows across the interior of the building.

"H-h-how?" Hiccup asked in complete shock.

"As much as I wish I could regail you of my near death experience, I have higher priorities."

"And what priorities would those be Viggo?" Hiccup questioned from atop Toothless, making no move to get off of his dragon and confront Viggo.

By now Viggo had made his way up the stairs and was slowly walking towards Hiccup. "You," he said in a low, menacing hiss.

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he sat up straight, staring right into Viggo's dark, hate fulled eyes. Toothless let out a deep, throaty growl as Viggo came closer, and purple a purple began seeping from the corners of his mouth.

"Toothless," Hiccup whispered, "not yet. Knowing him, he probably has the riders tied somewhere."

Toothless snapped his mouth closed, but kept is teeth bared and continued to growl.

"Where are the others Viggo?"

"Ah yes. Don't worry, they're safe. For now, anyway," Viggo explained.

Hiccup scowled, "What do you want? Me? Is that it? I surrender to you and the Riders go free?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Don't worry, everything will be made clear. But for now, I'll need you to come with me." Once he finished, he gestured his hand toward the door, where two heavy set dragon hunters awaited with chains and a muzzle.

Hiccup's scowl deepened as he dismounted Toothless, stumbling a bit as another wave of vertigo hit him, along with a sharp stab up his left leg. He steadied himself, and walked forward, giving a hateful glare towards Viggo as he passed. Toothless jogged to the stairs, assisting his rider down the steps and towards the two dragon hunters. Toothless let out a hiss as one of them stepped towards him, but after receiving a look from Hiccup, he kept quiet as the hunter slipped on the muzzle. The other hunter cuffed Hiccup's arms and legs( _ahem, leg_ )

"Let's get moving shall we?" Viggo said as he took the lead. The hunter assigned to Hiccup giving him a rough shove, telling him to get going. Hiccup grunted, but otherwise kept quiet. _Where were they going? And what was Viggo planning?_

 _..._

Snotlout struggled against his bonds, but it was fruitless. He had been ambushed on his way to the storehouse, and apparently the twins had as well when they went looking for him. They were being kept in a small room on a what he guessed was a dragon hunter ship. Their wrists were all cuffed and attached to a short chain that connected to the ceiling. His hands had long since gone numb from the tight cuffs, as well as being suspended for so long. He still didn't know what Viggo wanted them for, but he knew it couldn't be good. He suddenly heard the door shake, and then open. First walked in a hunter, then a pale Fishlegs and a shocked looking Astrid.

"Got you to huh?" Snotlout asked gloomily as he watched them get chained in the same manner as him.

"The attack came out of nowhere. We were checking the beach for you three muttonheads when we got ambushed," Astrid explained, regaining her ever-calm attitude.

"Did you guys see Viggo?" Ruffnut questioned.

"Y-ya. But we don't know why we're here. Did he tell you?" Fishlegs asked.

Snotlout scoffed, "No. We were ambushed, just like you guys, and tied up here."

"Quiet! All of you! Viggo is almost here with your _precious leader,_ and he wants all of you on your best behavior," shouted a hunter.

"Hiccup," Astrid murmured, her eyes wide with concern.

The hunter turned towards her, " And _you_. Viggo warned me about you. Said you're a feisty one," he chuckled as he walked forward with more rope. He proceeded to wrap her ankles with rope, as well as her knees.

"Is this really necessary?" Astrid asked incredulously.

"He said you're slippery so..you know, just in case. And besides, you're first up."

"First up for what?" She asked nervously.

The hunter chuckled again, "You'll see."

...

Hiccup grunted as he was shoved again, the hunter shouting at him to keep up. Although it was hard with his leg and prosthetic tied so close together. Not to mention he was a natural born clutz, and he had trouble walking right when he _wasn't_ tied up. _And_ his head was spinning, as well as his leg shooting daggers up his spine. They had been walking for hours. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Hiccup guessed they were in a forest somewhere. Hiccup assumed they were headed to the beach, since that's near the storehouse. If that was the case, they should be there in 20 minutes or so.

...

20 minutes had passed, and they had just reached the beach, which was lit by several torches. He could make out a small dragon skin tent, a post about 10 yards from the tent, and the faint silhouette of a dragon hunter ship docked on shore. He noticed he was being directed in the direction of the ship.

"So," Hiccup started, "mind filling me in on what your plan is?"

Viggo let out a soft chuckle, "haha not yet, Hiccup. But soon."

Once inside the ship, Hiccup was led into a small room where all the riders where being kept.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, leaning forward against her chains. But let out a small gasp of pain at the movement, for it tugged on her broken hand. She recovered quickly, but Hiccup saw it, and gave her a concerned glance.

As Hiccup was being chained to the ceiling like the others, Viggo exited the room.

Hiccup notice with concern that he wasn't chained with the others. For he was chained facing them, about 12 feet in front of them. They were all chained in a line that ran straight across the middle of the room, which was strange.

Viggo re-entered the room, and Hiccup's heart rate spiked at the sight of the whip he was holding. _This is bad, really bad_

"Are you going to torture me?" Hiccup asked as calmly as he could.

"No, not physically at least. See, I've come to notice you don't care what happens to you. You're strange that way. But when it comes to your little friends," Viggo pointed the whip towards the gang, " _they_ are you're weakness. You care what happens to them."

Hiccup's eyes widened in realization. _No. No, NO! This can not be happening. Oh Thor no...not them, please..._

"No, no Viggo please," Hiccup begged, his voice shaking, "please just...not them. Take me! I'm the one you hate. Not them!"

"And where would be the fun in that?" Viggo asked cruelly, stepping closer to Astrid. He raised the whip.

"NO!" Hiccup screamed.

Viggo reared back his arm.

"No, no please! Not her!"

The whip came down, and Astrid screamed.

 **Man, I just love to leave ya'll on cliffies don't I? And this one was a long one! I just got carried away! It was super fun to write the whole "mysterious figure reveal" thing lol. Were you able to figure it out before? Or did I have you stumped? I felt like a dropped a lot of hints in the last chapter. I'm leaving for the Caribbean for a week Wednesday so I'll try to update before then, but I make no promises. Thank you all for the support! See ya next chapter!**


	6. Rescue

**I am so, so sorry for not updating for so long! I was out of the country for a week( which was incredible! I got to go diving with sharks! sorry i just had to get that out there lol) and then had a crazy week at the barn trying to catch up for the week I wasn't there so... ya pretty hectic. But I'm here now! I'm prob only gonna do one or two more chapters, but I have a hiccstrid story that I really want to get started ;) OKAY! Here we go! chapter 4!**

Chapter 4: Rescue

"No!" Hiccup pleaded, struggling against his chains, "please! please just..stop"

"Ah, are we breaking yet Hiccup?" Viggo asked, ceasing his whipping for a moment. He had finished with Astrid, who was hanging limply from her cuffs and shivering profusely, much to Hiccup's concern, and was now on to Snotlout. Surprisingly, he was holding it together pretty good. Well, as good as someone getting tortured could, that is.

"Why are you even doing this!?"

"Don't you understand!?" Viggo howled, "you destroyed everything! You humiliated me!" He whipped Snotlout again.

"Scarred me!"

 _CRACK_

"lost the Dragon Eye!"

 _CRACK_

"You RUINED MY LIFE'S WORK!"

 _CRACK_

"STOP! PLEASE! Just take me! Hurt _me!_ Leave them out of this!" Hiccup begged, tugging at his chains even more, tears now clouding his vision, "you said it yourself! _I'm_ the who ruined everything! Not them!"

Viggo only ignored him and continued his torture. Snotlout was now starting to loose consciousness as well, only letting out a hiss or soft groan whenever Viggo whipped him. Snotlout already sported seven lashes, and Odin knew how many more he would receive.

However, the dragon hunters' leader simply dropped the whip, moving to a small desk in the far corner of the room. Hiccup didn't know whether he should feel relieved or concerned. As Viggo turned around, holding a small, curved knife. He slowly moved towards Fishlegs, who let out a squeak as Viggo abruptly turned to stare at him. The burly teen let out a whimper and shrank back as far as he could as Viggo lifted the knife. He raised the knife and let it caress Fishlegs' cheek, then hastily jabbed it into Fishlegs' shoulder. The viking sucked in a breath and jerked backward as he tried to escape the pain. Viggo yanked out the the knife and held it to Fishlegs' abdomen. Fishlegs squeezed his eyes shut, fearing what Viggo would do.

"NO!" Hiccup yelled, knowing full well what the malicious man intended.

Viggo leaned forward, ready to plunge the piece of Gronkle Iron into Fishlegs' stomach, when he was suddenly jolted to the side and sent tumbling to the ground. The whole ship shook and groaned from whatever had hit it from the outside. There was the patter of footsteps coming from the deck above, along with several indistinct shouts an hollers. Although there was one that rang clear through air.

"Berserkers!"

...

"What a nice night, huh sis?" Dagur said as he put his hands on his hips.

"S-sure...W-w-whatever yo-ou say," Heather responded as shivers wracked her body. This isn't exactly what she'd call a 'nice night'. It was below freezing out, and you couldn't exactly start a fire on a wooden ship. Not to mention they were dumb enough to take a small boat, so there wasn't a big enough space to stay below deck. It was only a small crawl space for storage, not big enough to get in and out of the bitter wind. They're dragons flew behind loyally, since the journey was to long to fly carrying their riders _and_ the amount of supplies they were supposed to get from Dragon's Edge. The plan was to put the supplies on the dragons and the two Berserkers to follow behind on the boat. That way the dragons wouldn't have to tow the boat, nor would they have to carry both the supplies and their riders.

"Aha! There it is, sis! Land ho!" Dagur exclaimed as he jumped up and down excitedly.

"F-f-final-aly," Heather sighed in relief. She was _freezing._ All she wanted to do was warm up in the clubhouse.

"Wait..." Dagur narrowed his eyes, "there's another ship docked on the shore there."

"Wha...Th-that's not ju-ust a-a-another ship, that's a dr-dragon hunter ship!" Heather gasped.

"We better go pay them a visit. Shattermaster!" The Berserker chief called, his trustworthy dragon instantly by his side.

"Windshear!" Heather hollered as her brother mounted Shattermaster, her dragon letting out a roar as she dove towards the icy ocean, stopping to hover near the boat. Heather hopped in the saddle, giving Windshear a nudge to tell her to follow Dagur, who had already taken off towards the ship.

"Ok," Dagur whispered once they were only about 40ft from the vessel, "let's each take a side. I'll take the right, and you the left. We'll fly low, out of their sight line. Use the element of surprise."

"Ok"

Both siblings went their separate ways, keeping low to the water so the hunters wouldn't see them. They both reached their designated sides.

"NOW!" Heather heard her brother yell. She shot up, flying through the air like a bullet. Dagur started to blast the deck while Heather had Windshear slice the mast with her tail, sending it plunging to the deck.

"Berserkers!" She heard one of the hunters yell, "We must warn Viggo!"

Heather gasped. "Dagur!," she shouted, "did you...?"

"Ya..."

...

"What in the name of Thor was that!?" Tuff shrieked.

"Berserkers," Hiccup said with a smile. They were gonna be okay. Everything was gonna be alright.

Viggo growled as he climbed back to his feet. He let out a frustrated roar as he stomped towards Hiccup.

"I have had enough," He hissed, thrusting the knife deep into Hiccup's stomach. Hiccup's eyes widened and he let out a gasp as searing hot pain spread through his abdomen like a wildfire. Then he went limp as his eyes fluttered closed.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs screamed. He could hear a faint voice from the deck above.

"Dagur! Did you hear that?"

 _Heather_

"HEATHER! We're down-humph,' he was cut off abruptly by Viggo stuffing a gag in his mouth, effectively silencing him.

"Shut. Up," Viggo spat, before turning and running out of the room.

"Below deck!" came Heather's muffled voice.

"O! Hthr on't cm owneer!" Fishleg's tried to yell, frustrated, yet not surprised, that the twins were doing absolutely nothing.

The door shook, then opened to reveal Heather. As she scanned the room her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh gods..." she breathed as she rushed towards Fishlegs.

"What happened?" she gasped as she yanked the gag out of Fishlegs' mouth, eyeing his bloody shoulder.

"Viggo. Although don't worry about me. Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout are in worse shape than me," he hurried to explain.

She turned her head to the right and gasped, catching sight of Astrid and Snotlout.

"Gods...Oh Thor," she muttered as she rushed to Astrid's side, fumbling with the chains.

"Ugh...Windshear!"

Windshear bursted through the door, hurrying to Heather's side. Although the room was small, so she was crammed, but she could fit.

"Slice it, girl!"

Windshear turned so she could get to the chains with her tail. Then, with one quick movement she sliced through Astrid's chains.

Heather hurried to catch Astrid as she tumbled to the ground. Carefully laying the unconscious shield maiden on the floor, she hurried to do the same with Snotlout.

"DAGUR! I need some help in here!"

"Coming, sis! Can you take care of the rest of 'em, buddy?"

A minute later the door bursted open again, Dagur rushed in to assist in any way he could.

"I need your help with Hiccup! It looks like Viggo stabbed him. I need you to put pressure on the wound while I take care of Astrid. She's in pretty rough shape. Windshear, cut everyone else free," Heather commanded.

Dagur nodded, walking to where Hiccup lay on the floor.

"Oh, brother, what have you gotten yourself into now," Dagur said sadly as he applied pressure to the wound. Hiccup let out a shriek and tried to curl into himself, however, Dagur's hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so.

"Easy, brother. Easy." He soothed as he wrapped the wound with a piece of his shirt.

Fishlegs groaned as he was freed, his good arm going to wrap about his bad one.

"Did you see Viggo?" He question.

Dagur shook is head. "No. I didn't see him up on deck, so I figured he was down here."

"He was...Although you should have run into him when you came down here..." Fishlegs explained, obviously confused.

"Listen, we can worry about him later. Right now Astrid, Hiccup, and Snotlout are in really bad shape," Heather said grimly. "I should be able to get Hiccup and Astrid on Windshear if you can get Snotlout on Shattermaster."

"Okay. Shattermaster! Come here, boy!"

Shattermaster entered the room, his tail wagging and tongue lolling out if his mouth.

"Hey, boy," Dagur greeted as he hoisted Snotlout onto his dragon's back,"to the edge, boy!"

Shattermaster loped out the door and took off into the crisp night air.

"Will you guys be able to find the dragons and get back by yourself?" Heather asked as she dragged Hiccup over to Windshear, draping him across her neck.

"Ya," Fishlegs answered.

"Are you sure? That shoulder doesn't look to good."

"It's fine," He answered curtly, being unusually stoic.

"Ok then," Heather sighed as she carefully set Astrid on Windshears neck as well. "Let's go, girl."

 **Sorry for the crappy ending, but I'm super tired and didn't want to keep you waiting another day. Hopefully I won't take so long to update again. I already have like... half of the next chapter already mapped out in my head so it shouldn't be to long before I get the next chapter up(:**

 **oh! And a shout out to The Dreaming Dragon! Thank you so much for all the kind words!**


	7. Recovery

**Alright everybody! Last chapter...*wipes imaginary tear of cheek* Thank you so much for all your kind words and support(: I'm prob gonna get my new story up within the next few days. I'm pretty excited about it (;**

Chapter 5: Recovery

The last few hours had been hectic to say the least. Thankfully, the others had found the dragons in another cell on the ship, all unscathed, and had found their way back. And Snotlout wasn't in that bad of shape. He only had seven lashes, and only two were deep enough to need stitches. Hiccup and Astrid on other hand...

"Fishlegs! I need more blankets!" Heather hollered. She was currently in the Clubhouse, standing over Astrid, trying to get her shivering under control.

"Dagur!" Fishlegs yelled. _He_ was trying to get Hiccup's bleeding under control. Fortunately, Fishlegs didn't think any internal organs were damaged, but the young heir was still bleeding profusely, "Get some blankets from Hiccup's hut and give them to Heather!"

"Got it." Dagur nodded and took off.

"Okay," Fishlegs sighed, before grabbing another rag and pressing it against Hiccup's abdomen. "Heather," he said nervously, "the bleeding won't stop. I know if a procedure that could help but...I've never done it before. And if we do it wrong we could just end up injuring him further."

"We _have_ to Fishlegs. Hiccup will bleed out otherwise," Heather argued, "so what do we do?"

Fishlegs let out a sigh as he stood up straight, turning to face Heather. He bit his lower lip, his mouth forming a thin line. "Ruff, Tuff, get Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare Gel."

...

"Blankets! Here, blanky, blanky," Dagur said in a sing-song voice, looking around Hiccup's hut. He walked up the stairs and into Hiccup's loft.

"Aha! There you are!" He exclaimed as he snatched two blankets off of Hiccup's bed. He turned around, scurried down the stairs, and dashed out the door.

...

"Thanks," Fishlegs breathed as the twins thrusted the Monstrous Nightmare Gel into his hands, "Okay, Heather, take this," he handed her the gel, "Alright...Heather, I need you to smear a small, _very_ small, portion of Nightmare Gel onto Hiccup's wound so-"

"So we can _set him on fire_?" Heather interrupted, completely shocked.

"We have to cauterize the wound," he stated it a soft, yet matter-of-fact tone.

"And there's no other way you can do that?"

Fishlegs just shook his head, looking anxious. He turned abruptly, leaned over Hiccup, and pried of the bloody rag from Hiccup's stomach. "Ok, Nightmare Gel," He ordered as he walked towards the table to grab a piece of paper. Heather stepped up to Hiccup's side, kneeled down on the floor, and stuck two fingers inside the small jar of gel. Fingers now coated in the flammable substance, she spread it across the angry laceration. "Okay, now what?"

'Now, the hard part," Fishlegs resonded, rolling of the piece of up, before walking over to a torch on the wall. He hovered the paper over the flames, affectively setting it on fire. He "Ok, hold him down. he's not gonna like this," he ordered once he reached Hiccup's side one again. Heather nodded mutely and grabbed both of Hiccup's shoulders. "Ok... one, two...three."

Hiccup let out a screech as fire licked his stomach. He tried to thrash and curl into himself, but Heather's hands kept him from doing so. The flames disappeared as soon as they appeared, but did their job. The wound was now cauterized. It looked pretty ugly, what with the blistery burns, but it had stopped the bleeding.

"Alright...I can't stitch it because of the burns, so it'll scar. But I'll wrap it up. He should be ok," he finished with a smile."I got the blankets!" Dagur shouted as he bursted into the clubhouse, carrying two thick wool blankets. Heather zipped over and snatched the blankets from her brother, hurriedly crashing to her knees and wrapped the blankets around Astrid's quivering shoulders. With all the fuss over Hiccup, she had almost forgotten about Astrid. They had already stitched her up, but she had lost so much blood her body was having a hard time regulating her body temperature. Hopefully, if they can get her body temp back up, Astrid should be just fine.

"Okay," Heather sighed, "she should be fine once she warms up. Fishlegs, can you pick her up and move her over to Hiccup? I know he's gonna want to check on her as soon as he wakes up. This should keep him from getting up and straining himself."

"Ya," Fishlegs answered as he got up and walked towards Astrid. He kneeled down to pick her up, but stopped. "Heather?"

"Ya?"

"We've got another problem," he said concernedly, lifting Astrid's swollen and purpled left hand.

Heather sighed again. "How on Thor's green earth did we miss that? I'll go grab more bandages," she said as she walked over to a chest in the far-right corner, pulling out a wad of bandages.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Dagur piped up.

"Could you go check up on Snotlout? If he's awake then tell him to drink that tonic I made for him," Heather responded. Snotlout had been given the all clear and was sent back to his hut to rest after he had his wounds stitched.

Dagur gave a nod, turned on his heels, and ran out to do as told.

Heather let out a sigh for what felt like the seventeenth time today as she bent down to wrap Astrid's broken hand. "Alright, lay her down by Hiccup, then I think we can get some shut eye after we check on the dragons in the stables."

"Sounds good."

And with that the two dragon riders exited the clubhouse, leaving the heir and shield maiden to recover.

...

Astrid awoke to a slight pressure on her right hand, as well as a soft, echoey voice...

"As-d y-o ok?"

"Mmmmm," she moaned, rolling her head to the side. She didn't want to get up yet. She was so, _so_ tired...

"A-sr-d, co-m on. w-ke up,"

She then felt something warm and soft on her forehead. Sighing, she willed her eyes open, and was greeted with emerald green ones, bright with concern. "Hey," she muttered groggily, subconsciously leaning into Hiccup's hand, which rested on her cheek.

"Hey," Hiccup greeted back, "Are you ok?"

Astrid didn't answer, instead scooching closer to him, resting her head on his chest. Hiccup wrapped a protective arm around her waist, drawing her closer. She went to wrap an arm around his waist as well, when she felt him stiffen, as well as let out a hiss of pain. She immediately drew her arm back, wincing as the movement tugged on her lacerations.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," was his curt answer.

'Hiccup..." she warned.

"Viggo decided to bang me up a bit too. Nothing you need to worry about."

Astrid was going to argue further, when Fishlegs entered, carrying two bowls.

"Well, good morning you two! Glad to see you're up!" He said pleasantly, setting the bowls on the table, "I brought some stew for you when you're feel'n good enough to eat."

"Thanks, Fishlegs," Hiccup acknowledged. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and he leaned forward slightly. "What happened to Viggo? Did you find him? Did he hurt anyone else? How's Snotlout? Is he-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Fishlegs interrupted, "Snotlout's fine. He woke up a couple of hours ago. As for Viggo...well, I don't know. It's like he just vanished," he shrugged.

Hiccup clenched his teeth and let his head fall back onto the wood floor.

"Hiccup, there's nothing you could have done," Astrid soothed.

"I'm gonna go get Toothless. I'm sure he'll be more than excited once he finds out you're awake," said Fishlegs.

"We can worry about Viggo later Hiccup. Let's just take this one step at a time."

Hiccup nodded, eyes closed and jaw still clenched.

Suddenly, a bark sounded from outside, and the floor of the clubhouse shook as Toothless came barreling in. He skidded to a stop once he reached Hiccup and Astrid, tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth in his joy, a gummy smile spread across his features.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup chuckled, reaching a hand up to rub the top of his dragon's head, "Did Viggo hurt you?"

Toothless snorted and shook his head, before nudging his rider's cheek, giving it a lick.

"haha yea, I'm ok, bud"

Toothless gave a coo before laying down, body curling around the two injured teens. He cooed one more time before his eyes slid shut, purring in contentment.

"Thanks, bud. You're amazing, you know that right?" Hiccup asked. Astrid gave him a little jab in the ribs, as well as a stern but playful look. "You _both_ are," he laughed, pulling Astrid even closer, if that was even possible. He sighed in satisfaction, the worry over Viggo slowly fading away. Right here, right now, he was just thankful to have such great friends. He knew they would be there for him through this whole Viggo fiasco. And because of that, for the first time in a long time, he felt truly at peace. 

***Sighs* I know, I'm terrible at endings...but this is as good as it gets! tell me what you think in the reviews! Thanks for reading!**

 **Until next time~ Liv**


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